FAREWELL LITTLE 'PUMPKIN' WE WISH YOU WELL IN YOUR NEW LIFE WITH GRANDMA IN CHINA

Farewell little "Pumpkin" we wish you well in your new life with Grandma in China.

She beamed into our lives through world TV news programs a few weeks ago; that poor little abandoned three year old at a Melbourne, Australia, train station. She was nick-named "Pumpkin" by Australian authorities, because of the Pumpkin Patch clothing she wore on that fateful night.

Soon the horrible truth that preceded her abandonment was revealed by New Zealand police. Her father had allegedly murdered her mother in Auckland and fled to Australia with his little daughter, callously and cold heartedly abandoning her at the train station, and catching a flight to Los Angeles.

Soon the little girl was identified as Qian Xun Xuecan. Her mother, Anan Liu, was found murdered in the boot of a car outside the family home in Auckland.

Later news revealed she had an elder half sister in Auckland,Grace,the estranged daughter of Nai Yin Xue,who is still being pursued by US marshals in California to this day, and due to appear on "America's Most Wanted" program in a few days or so.

In the meantime little Pumpkin was brought to New Zealand by Australian social services authorities to await a decision on her future.

After her maternal grandmother arrived in New Zealand and expressed her desire to look after her little grand-daughter,a family group conference was held in Auckland.

The Principal Family Court Judge, Peter Boshier, has made his decision in the case.The child's grandmother, Liu Xiao Ping, has been given custody of Qian Xun Xuecan, the youngster the New Zealand public knew as little "Pumpkin".

Apparently Judge Boshier had a difficult decision to make because of many conflicting Acts of Parliament which had to be balanced, creating tensions, and because of this significant parts of his decision were suppressed to the public.

Mrs Liu, the grandmother, accompanied by an interpreter and her lawyer,was spoken to directly by Judge Boshier.

I quote the Judge:" It is important to acknowledge at the outset to those members of the family present today the utterly tragic circumstances." And further." Above all else, I acknowledge the sadness of the circumstances that bring us here today."

He appointed Mrs Liu as an "additional guardian" under New Zealand's Care of Children Act.

Under the same Act the grandmother was given leave to apply for a parenting order so that the child "is placed into the day to day care of her grandmother".

He also ordered that Qian Xun Xuecan's elder half sister be given contact with the child through email, telephone, exchange of photos and visits when Grace is in China, or when the child is in New Zealand.

The parenting order allows Qian to live in China with her grandmother. Even though she is a New Zealand citizen, she is Chinese and has cultural links to China, and attachment to her grandmother is demonstratable.

Surprisingly, the child's father still has guardianship rights over the girl, something that will be reviewed at a later date.It was a very good and just decision by Judge Boshier, reflecting the famiy's wishes to support and protect the little girl.

Goodbye, little "Pumpkin" and best wishes from us all for the future!

Petes Life and World Events

LITTLE 'PUMPKIN' IS REUNITED WITH HER GRANDMOTHER IN NEW ZEALAND

Little 'Pumpkin', Qian Xun Xue, the Chinese girl abandoned by her father at a rail station in Melbourne, Australia, about a week ago, has been reunited with her maternal grandmother in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday. She was brought over to New Zealand by Australian child welfare authorities.

The elder half sister of the little girl, Grace Xue who lives in Auckland, they have the same father, has pleaded with him to give himself up to US Marshals who are closing in on him in California, after he fled there after allegedly killing his wife and mother of the three year old in Auckland.

The family wll be meeting with New Zealand child welfare authorities, 'Child Youth and Family', to decide the future custody of the little girl. The grandmother is believed to want to take the girl back to China, while the older sister may be keen to look afer her in New Zealand. However,this wll be resolved after a family group conference in coming days. In the meantime there is a family reunion.

United States authorities have allegedly received new sightings of the father of the girls and have met with NZ police in Los Angeles. A US marshal would not give details but said the fresh leads were positive and being investigated.

Ms Xue said she had been abandoned by her father as well when brought to NZ as a nineteen year old, just two months after arrival and left to fend for herself in a strange country. She pleaded with him because she was struggling financially, but he simply rejected her. History repeated itself with the abandonment of little 'Pumpkin'.

Ms Xue said she hadn't met her little sister yet, as she was waiting for the go-ahead by child psychologists.

She had no preference for which country Qian was raised in, only that the persn who raised her would bring her up to be a beautiful person. But she was adamant she would be part of Qian's future, whatever it may be, and to be a positive role model for her.

Ms Xue has set up a "Little Pumpkin Trust" to ensure her financial wellbeing, with anything extra going to the other 'little pumpkins' who get abandoned by their parents, or become destitute by accident or through criminal offences.

A close family source said the mother, Anan Liu's funeral would be a small private affair.

The trust in New Zealand has a website, www.littlepumpkintrust.org New Zeland phone 0900-40000

Once the father, Nai Yin Xue, has been arrested by American police and handed over to their New Zealand counterparts, there will be some closure for the little girl and her family.

Pete's Life and World Event